Tropical Paradise Lost
by LJEvans
Summary: SG1 travels to a planet where the stargate is located on a beautiful tropical island. The seemingly docile natives have a gift for each member of SG1, but all may not be as it seems.Hints of SJ Complete!
1. Chapter 1

_**Tropical Paradise Lost**_

A/N: In my reality, this story took place just before the episode entitled "Grace". I think it makes some of "Grace" a little more understandable and it also gives us insight into why Sam eventually pursued a relationship with (gag) Pete. There's some subtle S and J in here and the epilog of the story is what I think **_should_** have happened at the end of "Grace". Since this is **NOT** an AU story I couldn't really put in the BHK and other things that every shipper would like to read, because I want to stay true to what really happened in the show. I believe that S/J were together in season 9 (see " A Hint to the Powers That Be") and that we will actually SEE them together in season 10. Having said all of that, I hope you will read the story and that you enjoy it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

On a small, tropical island, a hundred thousand light years from Earth, a Stargate kawooshed to life for the first time in nearly 100 years. Four intrepid explorers, wearing green Battle Dress Uniforms stepped through the shimmering event horizon and looked around in awe at their surroundings.

"Wow!" Daniel exclaimed, "the UAV photos did not do this place justice!"

The group looked out on a vast expanse of white sand beach and pristine turquoise water. Palm trees framed their view of the ocean from the Stargate and a tropical breeze blew off the water and cooled their faces.

"Major," the leader began, "how far is it to Daniel's ruins?"

"A little over 16 klicks, Sir. Bearing two seven zero."

"16 klicks! Why do they always put the ruins so far from the gate?" The leader muttered.

The large, dark man with the gold tattoo on his forehead spoke. "O'Neill, there appears to be a path here in the direction of the ruins. Should we not proceed?"

"Yeah, Teal'c you take point, Daniel, you've got our six." The tall, handsome leader adjusted his ball cap and the four explorers began their long trek to the ancient ruins.

After three and a half hours of hiking, the sky darkened and the group suddenly found themselves in the middle of a tropical downpour. A warm, heavy rain pounded straight down as the breeze died. At first it felt good, giving the sensation of standing under a warm shower, but soon their uniforms were totally soaked and the group began to feel quite uncomfortable.

"Jack, I think I remember a small shack up ahead in the UAV reconnaissance photos. At the time I thought it looked like a way station halfway between the gate and the temple. If we can find it maybe we can stay there until the rain storm is over."

"Yeah, fine, Daniel, whatever. I just want to get out of this rain."

As the group trudged on, the wind began to pick up and the temperature dropped. The explorers were now starting to feel a chill as well as the uncomfortable wetness of their clothes.

"O'Neill!" The large black man called out, "I believe I see the shack that Daniel Jackson spoke of!"

The group began to run and soon found a bamboo shack in a small clearing in the dense tropical jungle. The shack was built up on stilts, with a thatched roof, a small porch, and wooden shutters.

"Check it out, Teal'c." O'Neill ordered.

Teal'c nodded, climbed the steps to the small porch, and lowering his staff weapon, pushed open the door of the shack.

"All clear!" He shouted back to the rest of the group who hurriedly followed him into the structure.

It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the shack, but once they did they found a small table and four chairs, woven grass sleeping mats on the floor and a fire pit, complete with dry fire wood.

"Daniel, start a fire and then let's get out of these wet clothes."

"Um, Jack, I'm sure this storm won't last too long and I'd really like to get to those ruins."

"Daniel," his tone was a warning, "we still have about 6 klicks to go to get to the ruins, the storm doesn't seem to be letting up, and we're losing daylight. Your ruins will still be there tomorrow."

The younger man knew the leader was right. He quickly set about starting a fire so the group could dry off and warm up.

The blonde woman pulled a clean, dry, black t-shirt out of her back pack. "Um, Colonel..." She said as she held up the garment.

The Colonel shrugged out of his back pack, pulled out his own clean, dry t-shirt and said "Let's go change on the porch and let Carter change in here."

After changing into her dry t-shirt and dry socks, Sam padded to the door, opened it and said "You guys can come back in now."

The four explores sat at the table and discussed what they knew so far about the planet they were on.

"Sam," Daniel began "did the UAV or MALP show any signs of human inhabitants other than the village that was north of the Stargate?"

"No," the woman replied "the village was all we saw. We didn't even see any activity in the village,"

"Do you suppose that the occupants of this planet are gone? That no one lives here anymore?"

"That is highly unlikely, Daniel Jackson. This hut is in good repair and appears to have been used recently."

"I agree with Teal'c, Daniel. While the Stargate and the temple appear to be unused, I think the inhabitants of this planet are still here."

"Well, I for one want to meet them," Daniel began.

"Yeah, how did I know you were gonna say that!" Was Jack's sardonic reply.

As Sam and Daniel continued their conversation, speculating about the inhabitants of the planet and what they would find at the ancient temple, Jack stepped outside on the porch to watch the storm.

After a few moments, Teal'c followed him. "Do you sense danger, O'Neill?" He asked as he stepped out on the porch and stood behind his friend.

"Not exactly, T. I just think we shouldn't get complacent just because we haven't seen any signs of Jaffa here." The Colonel stated, never looking away from the rain that pounded down around them.

Teal'c inclined his head slightly in agreement and returned to the interior of the shanty. As he entered the hut Teal'c noticed that Daniel was pouring over reconnaissance photos of the ruins and Sam was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest. She was resting her chin on her right knee and staring into the fire. She looked up when he entered the room.

"What's the Colonel doing?" She asked.

"He is watching the storm. I believe he is concerned that it may intensify."

Sam nodded absentmindedly and looked back to the fire. After a moment she unfolded herself from her position on the floor and went to the porch to join Colonel O'Neill.

"Hey," she said softly as she came out onto the porch.

The Colonel turned to look at the beautiful blonde woman. "Hey." He replied.

She went to stand beside him and both the officers stared out at the raging tropical storm.

"How long do you think it will last?" She asked.

Jack put his hands on the porch railing, leaned out, and looked at the sky. "I don't have a clue," he replied as he pulled himself back under the shelter of the porch, "but it's starting to get dark."

"I'll take first watch," she said as she handed the Colonel an energy bar.

Jack looked briefly into Sam's eyes as he took the energy bar from her. She smiled at him and then looked away.

"What's Daniel doing?" He asked.

"He's studying the photos from the UAV."

"Ah!"

"Yeah, pretty boring."

After a time the members of SG1 settled in for the night. Sam took first watch, Jack second, Daniel third and Teal'c took the last watch.

As the sun began to rise Teal'c came into the cabin and awoke the Colonel. "O'Neill, the sun is coming up and the storm is over."

"Ok, good," came the groggy reply. "Carter! Daniel! Time to get up campers!"

After a small breakfast, the group cleaned the cabin so no traces of their having used it remained, then they set off down the trail toward the ancient temple and ruins.

Two more hours of hiking and they finally reached their goal. Daniel became giddy with excitement as he began to examine the ruins. He was talking a mile a minute to no one in particular and video taping at the same time.

Teal'c and Jack set up a perimeter and Carter went off to help Daniel.

"Look at this, Sam!" He said excitedly pointing to the writing on one of the walls. "This indicates that this whole island was nothing but a vacation spot for the Goa'uld! They brought humans here to be their slaves and cater to their every whim, but there was no permanent contingent of Jaffa stationed here because all the system lords used this place. They would bring their own Jaffa with them while they were here."

"How was it that they didn't fight each other over this place?" Sam asked.

"Apparently they all signed some sort of treaty, this was considered neutral territory..."

"Yeah, but we all know how good the Goa'uld are at keeping their word..." Sam began.

"I know. It appears that there's nothing of value here to the Goa'uld such as technology or naquada, so they stopped coming here almost a hundred years ago."

"What about the slaves that were here to serve them?" Sam asked.

"They left them here." Daniel replied.

Daniel went back to studying the writings on the wall and Sam wandered off to a larger, open area in the temple.

"Daniel," She called after a moment, "there's a ring transporter over here. It looks like it hasn't been used in ages."

Back outside the temple Teal'c suddenly became aware of people coming down a different path than the one they had used.

"O'Neill!" He called. "A group of natives is approaching."

Jack ducked into the temple. "We've got company, kids!" He shouted to Daniel and Sam who scrambled out to join Jack and Teal'c.

Four natives approached, two men and two women. They were dressed in Polynesian style outfits, grass skirts for both the men and women, bikini type tops and shawls for the women and the men were bare chested. Both the men and women wore bracelets made of flowers around their wrists and ankles and had sandals on their feet. Each of the natives wore a necklace with a different colored stone about the size of a quarter.

SG1 stood together at the top of the steps leading into the temple. The four natives stopped at the bottom of the steps and placed the items they were carrying on the bottom step. One of the men stepped forward, covered his eyes with his hands and bowed deeply.

"We welcome the return of our gods!" He said with a smile.

"Oh, no, no!" Daniel moved down one step. "We're not gods, we're explorers. This is Jack, Sam, Teal'c and I'm Daniel."

The man looked confused. "You came through the ring of the gods. You are gods. Only gods know how to use the ring."

"Um, no...anyone can use the ring. Even you. We can teach you."

"That is forbidden." The man said.

One of the women stepped forward. "You are here at the temple of the gods, our grandfathers have told us that this is where their fathers always came to wait on the gods."

The other woman stepped forward "We have brought fruit and wine." She indicated the gifts on the bottom step. "What else do you desire, my lords?"

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Colonel O'Neill exclaimed, "we are not your lords. Call me Jack. She's Sam, he's Daniel and that's Teal'c."

"But he is a warrior for the gods." Kona said as he indicated Teal'c.

"I am no longer in the service of the Goa'uld. They are false gods and I wish to live free."

The four natives looked at each other with confusion so Daniel jumped in. "Um, what is this place called and what should we call you?" He asked.

The four natives looked at each other for a moment. This was not something they expected from the gods. Finally the man in charge said "The name of our village is Kanaka. I am called Lopaka and this is my wahine, Nika."

"Daniel?" Jack questioned.

"Um, wahine, that means wife...in early Polynesian.

Lopaka continued, "This is Kona and his, ...what was the word you used?"

"Wife." Daniel repeated.

"Wife." The man tried out the word. He indicated the other woman "This is Lailene. She is the ...wife of Kona."

"We're pleased to meet you." Sam said in the most pleasant voice she could muster.

Teal'c bowed.

"What can you tell us about these ruins?" Daniel inquired with a wave of his hand toward the temple behind him.

"This is where the gods always came to rest. Our people would come here to serve them. The gods would stay a few days and then they would leave." Lopaka replied.

"We have taken images of the writing so we can study them later. Right now we would really like to see your village." Daniel enthused.

"You do not wish to stay here and have us wait on you?" Lailene asked.

"No, we would much rather get to know you and your people," the archeologist replied.

"Daniel, do you think that's wise?" Jack asked in an aside.

"Jack, there's nothing here. There's no technology, no artifacts left behind, only the writing on the walls and we have video of that. The people are much more fascinating."

Colonel O'Neill looked at Major Carter as if to ask for her input.

"I agree, Sir. The fact that the Goa'uld left these people here and haven't been back for a hundred years is of much greater significance and who knows what we might learn from them."

"I concur." Teal'c stated simply.

"Alright. Lopaka, can you take us to your village?" Jack asked.

"You wish to be our guests?"

"We do."

"It is a long walk," Nika stated. "We should eat and drink before we begin." She again indicated the terra cotta bowls and jugs on the bottom step.

"Very well." Jack replied and the members of SG1 descended the steps and sat on the next to the bottom step with the bowls and jugs on the step below them.

"You should join us." Daniel said.

The four natives sat on the ground in front of SG1.

"You must eat and drink first." Teal'c stated.

All the members of SG1 turned to look at Teal'c, but no one said a word.

Jack turned back to the natives. "Yes. You must eat and drink first."

The natives did not question the order, but instead each took a piece of fruit and a sip of the wine from one of the jugs. When Teal'c was satisfied that the food was not poisoned he took a piece a fruit and the rest of SG1 followed his lead.

After their brief meal, Jack stood up, rubbed his hands together and said "Well, campers, to Oz?"

"Oz?" Lopaka asked as he got to his feet.

"What the Colonel means is we would like to go to your village now." Sam interpreted for the locals. She looked at the Colonel and he shrugged his shoulders at her in his "you know what I meant" look.

As they followed the natives to their village, Daniel was full of questions. He discovered that Lopaka and Kona were two of the village elders and that there were a total of five elders. As the conversation continued, the villagers began to feel more at ease with the strangers and were soon asking Daniel questions.

Sam and Jack were bringing up the rear when Jack said to Sam sotto voce "So, what,...this place is a Goa'uld time share?"

Sam smiled at him and repressed a giggle, "Essentially, yeah."

Lailene asked Daniel "Sam is Jack's wahine is she not?"

"What? Oh, um, no. Where we come from they are soldiers and they aren't permitted to... um...well, no."

"That is strange," replied Nika, "because they care very deeply for each other."

"How do you know that?" Daniel asked.

"Well, we all have our gifts." Nika stated. "You are smart and good with people. Jack is strong and a leader. Teal'c's strength is his loyalty to his friends and Sam is intelligent and compassionate."

Daniel looked at her with his mouth hanging open. "You've known us for less than two hours. How do you know all that?"

"I told you, it is my gift."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	2. Chapter 2

After walking for about 90 minutes, SG1 and the four natives arrived at the village of Kanaka. There were over a hundred bamboo huts on stilts with thatched roofs and small porches. These huts, for the most part, were larger than the one they had stayed in the night before.

Several small children ran through the village laughing as they played a game. Merchants and women working in the village came out to stare at the newcomers in their midst.

"Friends," Lopaka called "These are they who came through the ring of the gods. They say they are not gods and they want to meet you."

"Um, listen, my name is Daniel Jackson, this is Jack, Sam and Teal'c. We came here to be friends, share knowledge, maybe trade with you..."

"You came through the ring of the gods but you say you are not gods?" A confused voice asked.

"No, and the people who came here and enslaved you and claimed to be your gods were not gods either."

"How dare you say that!" An angry man shouted. "The gods will hear you and they will punish us for your insolence!"

"Oh fer cryin' out loud! Those people who used to come through the gate claiming to be your gods can't hear you and they don't know we're here!"

"Lies!" The angry native shouted. "You will get us all killed!"

"Palaki," Kona addressed the angry man, "if the gods wanted to destroy us they could have done it already."

"Not necessarily, Kona. Maybe they wanted to test us, see how we would respond to their test of faith!" Palaki stated warily.

"I believe these visitors, Palaki." Lopaka began in a calm, even voice. "You can have your say at the meeting of the Counsel of Elders. It is up to the Counsel to decide whether we allow these strangers to stay in our village. In the meantime they need a place to rest."

"They can stay in my grandfather's home," a woman in the crowd shouted.

"Ah, we don't want to put her grandfather out." Daniel said to Lopaka.

"It is alright. Her grandfather died several months ago and no one is living in his hut."

"Thank you," Lopaka said to the woman. He turned to Lailene and Nika and said "Please take them to the hut. I will gather the elders for a meeting."

Nika and Lailene nodded and led SG1 off to a hut on the outskirts of the village.

This hut was nothing like the shack they had stayed in the previous night. They entered a room with wood paneled walls and ceilings. There was a stone fireplace for cooking, a wooden table and chairs and two comfortable looking canvas and bamboo chairs. There was an overhead fan with wide, leaf like blades that was operated by pulling on a rope. A separate room contained a four poster bed complete with mosquito netting and there were two wooden rocking chairs on the porch.

"Wow! This is really nice." Sam said to the ladies as she looked around the cabin. Although there was no glass in the windows, slatted shutters were used for keeping out the elements when necessary. The view from the front porch of the cabin was like a picture postcard of a tropical paradise; a beautiful pristine, white sand beach, crystal clear blue and turquoise water, and palm trees swaying lazily in the tropical breeze.

Sam took her pack off and dropped it onto the bed, but kept her P-90, casually resting her hands on the weapon. The other members of SG1 also put down their packs and kept their weapons with them.

"Do you ladies think you could get us some drinking water and some more fruit?" Jack asked in a friendly tone.

"Oh, yes, of course!" Nika replied and the two hurried from the cabin.

"Anyone care to join me on the veranda?" Jack asked jokingly.

"I will." Sam replied.

"As will I," Teal'c stated.

"Might as well join the crowd." Daniel said with a shrug.

Sam and Jack commandeered the two rocking chairs on the front porch leaving Daniel and Teal'c to carry the bamboo and canvas chairs out from the living area.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Back at the meeting of the Counsel of Elders, Palaki was expressing his distrust of the strangers in their midst.

"Palaki," one of the Elders began, "none of us living today have ever seen the gods, but we all know the stories that have been handed down through the generations. The gods have great power and only the gods are allowed to use the stone ring. If these strangers came through the stone ring the gods must have sent them."

"These visitors say that the gods are parasites and that they are not nice. That they enslaved our great grandfathers and their fathers before them. " Lopaka explained to the group.

"The strangers said they may trade with us and that they will willingly share their knowledge with us. They say they have medicines that we could use..." Kona added to what Lopaka began.

"How do we know these aren't lies!"

"Palaki, why would they lie? Besides, Nika trusts them and it is her gift to know such things." Lopaka stated.

"They do have a warrior of the gods with them, Lopaka." Another of the Elders spoke.

"Yes. But he says he does not wish to serve false gods, but to live free."

The fifth member of the Counsel spoke. "Palaki, I appreciate your caution and should we decide to let the strangers stay, I would feel safer if you would monitor the newcomers."

"It is time to decide." Lopaka said "place your stones on the table to indicate your vote."

Four black stones were placed into a white circle painted on the table in the Counsel's chambers.

"The vote passes. Palaki, you must accept them into our villiage."

"I will accept the vote of the Counsel," Palaki began "but I do not trust the newcomers and I will continue to be vigilant."

"Very well, that is your right."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

SG1 sat on the porch of their cabin enjoying the ocean breeze and the tropical fruit while Daniel visited with Nika and Lailene. After a time Lopaka came to tell them of the decision of the Counsel of Elders.

"Daniel," he called "the Counsel has agreed that you may stay and learn of our people. We will have a luau tonight at the fire pit on the beach to officially welcome you and so we may all get to know one another better."

"That's wonderful news, Lopaka!" Daniel enthused.

"What is a luau?" Teal'c inquired.

"Um.. it's kind of like a feast" Daniel replied.

"Will there be cake?" Jack asked.

"Cake?" Lopaka asked somewhat confused.

Jack looked at Sam. "I take it that means no cake."

"I will come by to escort you to the luau this evening. Nika and Lailene your help will be required for the feast." Good day friends," Lopaka said to the members of SG1 as the three natives hurried on their way.

"I hope we aren't walking into a trap" Jack said, with an edge to his voice.

"Jack, I don't think these people are advanced enough to plan a trap for us. They still aren't sure that we aren't Goa'uld and they have the stories handed down to them of the fierce power of the gods. I don't think they will try to hurt us."

"You better be right, Daniel." Jack flipped up the cover on his watch. "General Hammond will be checking in with us shortly." He said as he flipped the cover back over his watch.

"What are you going to tell him, Sir?"

"I'm going to tell him that there was nothing at the ruins, the Goa'uld haven't been here in a hundred years, and Daniel wants to party with the natives."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	3. Chapter 3

Just as the sun began sinking into the ocean, painting the water with brilliant reds, pinks and purples, Lopaka came to escort SG1 to the luau.

There was a huge bonfire on the beach and a whole pig was on a spit, being turned over the fire. The party area was lit up with, what Sam thought, looked like dozens of Tiki Torches stuck in the sand. Terra cotta cups were being handed out and filled with a sweet, tropical wine.

Many curious natives came up to the members of SG1, introduced themselves and asked the strangers questions of where they came from and what the Goa'uld were like.

SG1 were given seats in the sand where they could watch the entertainment and not miss a moment of the revelry. Young ladies continued to fill their cups with wine and they were brought huge plates of roasted pork and fresh fruit.

Drums began to pound and a dozen male dancers with large bamboo poles began a ritualist dance that included a mock battle with the poles. Next shakers, bells and flutes were added to the drums and several young women wearing flowers in their hair and around their wrists and ankles began a dance very reminiscent of the hula.

When the entertainment was over, Lopaka announced that they had gifts for the visitors. Nika came forward and handed a polished stone the color of the sea to Daniel Jackson. "This stone is called Hale Moana Kai. It means light of the ocean and it will increase your intelligence."

Daniel bowed his head slightly and thanked her.

Nika then handed a polished golden brown stone to Teal'c. "This stone is called Maka 'ekolu. It means third eye." She pointed to her forehead indicating the place where Teal'c's gold tattoo was on his forehead. "This stone will increase your awareness and intuitiveness."

Teal'c bowed as he accepted the stone from the young Polynesian woman.

Next she handed a deep red stone to Major Carter. "This stone is called Hale Ula Ahi. It means fire light. It will help you find that which you truly desire."

"Thank you, Nika," Sam said.

Finally she handed a pale pink stone to Colonel O'Neill. "This stone is called 'Akala Pua. It means pink flower." Jack grimaced slightly and Nika continued "This stone will balance your emotions and redirect them in the way they should go."

After Colonel O'Neill accepted the stone from Nika the crowd cheered and Lopaka announced that the activation ceremony would now begin.

Nika brought out a very small terra cotta pitcher and signaled to Palaki who brought a tray with four hollowed out coconut cups. Nika poured approximately one ounce of a dark red liquid into each of their cups.

"Now," she instructed "you must each hold your stone tightly in your left hand as you drink the entire contents of your cup in one swallow."

The members of SG1 looked cautiously at each other until Colonel O'Neill gave a slight nod to indicate that he felt it was safe.

"You must all drink at the same time!" Lailene added hastily.

"Ok, on three," said Jack "One, two three."

All the Earth visitors drank from their cups simultaneously.

"Eww! It reminds me of the Blood of Sokar!" Complained Sam.

"As I no longer posses a symbiote, I will not be immune to its effects, O'Neill."

"I agree with Sam, Jack. It tastes like the Blood of Sokar" Daniel added.

The crowd was cheering loudly. All except for Palaki who had moved away and stood in the shadows watching everything the strangers did.

"Uh, Sir, I don't feel so good..." Carter managed to say just before she fell to the sand and passed out.

"Carter!" The concern and fear was evident in Jack's voice, but before he could get to her, he too, passed out.

Teal'c was the last to lose consciousness.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	4. Chapter 4

Jack groggily pulled himself to consciousness in the dark interior of the room in which he slept. His P-90 and side arm were gone, he was not wearing his boots and Major Carter slept beside him on top of the covers of the bed in the cabin which they had been given for their stay.

With great effort, Jack reached over and touched Carter's neck. Satisfied when he felt her pulse, he tried to get out of the bed to check on Daniel and Teal'c. Using every ounce of energy he had, Jack rolled off the edge of the bed, only to have his legs collapse under him. After several long minutes of struggling, the Colonel finally managed to pull himself up off the floor. He staggered into the other room and found Teal'c and Daniel each passed out on a grass mat on the floor.

Feeling his knees begin to buckle and his focus blurring, Jack stumbled back to the other room and collapsed on the bed beside Carter.

"Come!" Palaki ordered the 10 men in his small army, "we must take them to the remote caves at Ana Lua Pao."

The men worked quickly, placing each member of SG1 on a stretcher made with bamboo poles and a grass mat. Palaki took point and led the group out of the cabin, while his most trusted ally brought up the rear.

As the band of natives made their way silently down a path that led away from the village and away from the Stargate, the members of SG1 made no sounds or movements.

The group had been hiking for nearly 3 hours, carrying SG1 on stretchers, when a grey light began to appear in the east.

"I can see the caves at Ana Lua Pao just ahead," stated Palaki.

The men brought the four members of SG1 into the caves and set the stretchers down in a semi circle. It was very cool and damp in the cave so one of the men went about building a fire near the cave opening while one other stood guard with a spear in each hand. Once the fire was going, the fire starter went outside to report to Palaki while the guard stayed behind.

After another half an hour had passed the members of SG1 began to regain consciousness.

"Oh, my head!" Doctor Jackson complained.

"Where are we?" asked Major Carter.

"It appears we are in a cave, however I am unsure how we arrived here," stated Teal'c

"Oww..." Jack groaned as he rolled onto his side.

"Colonel, are you alright?"

In the dim firelight Carter could see that O'Neill was not alright. Sweat was beading on his forehead, he was shaking as if he were freezing and, before he could answer, he suddenly doubled up in pain.

"Sir!" Sam yelled and instantly forgetting her own discomfort, hurried to his pallet and knelt beside him.

"I'm gonna be sick, Carter," he croaked out.

Sam helped Jack crawl to some low boulders away from the fire and the rest of the group. The Colonel leaned over the boulders and threw up.

The guard watching the scene unfold hurried to the cave entrance to tell Palaki that the prisoners were awake. When Palaki entered the cave with several of his men he found Daniel and Teal'c sitting up near the fire and Colonel O'Neill toward the back of the cave, slumped over some rocks. Major Carter was supporting him with one hand on his arm and the other on his back.

"He's sick!" She said to Palaki. "He needs some water!"

Palaki nodded to one of his men who walked over to Carter and handed her a leather canteen. She opened it, checked to make sure it was water and handed it to the Colonel. Jack took a mouth full of water, swished it around and spit it out. He did that one more time before drinking some of the cool liquid.

When the nausea passed and Jack didn't feel like he was going to throw up again, Sam helped him back to his grass mat. His legs felt like rubber, he was shivering uncontrollably and he felt as weak as a kitten.

Sam helped Jack get situated on his cot and then took off her BDU shirt and covered him with the garment. Major Carter stood up to her full height, and at 5 foot 9, even in her stocking feet, she was as tall as most of her captors. "What have you done to him, and why have you brought us here?" She demanded of Palaki,

"He was given the same drink as the rest of you. Some people just have a bad reaction to it." Palaki stated. "As to why we brought you here, that should be obvious. We are afraid that you will bring down the wrath of the gods upon us. We have lived in peace for 100 years because the gods are pleased with us. When they find out about **_you_** they will be angry with us and **_we_** will suffer the consequences."

"Fine, if that's what you believe then we will return to our home and you can forget you ever saw us!" Sam stated firmly.

"It is too late. The gods know everything. They will know that you have been here."

"No, they won't," Daniel interjected as he stood up. "The gods are not omnipotent - they don't know what's going on everywhere. We can leave and they will never know we were here."

"Even if they don't find out, you have tainted the minds of our people by putting ideas in their heads! Many of them are starting to believe you, to believe that the gods are false! We must prove you wrong!"

"How do you intend to do this?" Asked Teal'c in a calm voice.

"I challenge your leader to a battle to the death. The people will believe that the winner is right and the loser is wrong."

"He can't fight you! He's sick!" Sam indicated where Jack lay, barely conscious.

"That is too bad for him, but those are our rules."

"If a leader is unable to participate in battle, would you not allow him to choose someone to take his place?" Teal'c asked.

"No."

"I am second in command of this unit. Fight me!" Carter challenged.

"Major Carter..." Teal'c admonished, but she held up her hand to indicate that it was alright.

Palaki looked Major Carter up and down, sizing up his chances of beating her. In her black t-shirt, BDU pants and no boots she looked smaller and more frail to Palaki. He smiled. "Very well, I will battle **_you_** to the death."

"**_NO!_**" Jack croaked.

Sam knelt beside her commanding officer. "Sir, we don't have any choice." she said softly.

"I'll do it, Carter."

"With all due respect, Sir, no you won't. You are incapacitated and that puts me in command of SG1. The decision's made, Sir."

Sam stood again and looked Palaki in the eye. "When do we begin?" She asked.

"My men are bringing the village elders here as witnesses. They have been told that the four of you have requested the rite of Pukaua Koa to prove that the ancient gods are false."

Just then one of the watchmen entered the cave. "Palaki, We need to prepare for the battle," he said as he bowed slightly to the man in charge.

Palaki turned back to the members of SG1 "The only way out of this cave is the way we came in. My men are guarding the entrance until it is time for our battle." With that he turned on his heel and left the cave, taking his men with him.

"Major Carter," Teal'c began "Palaki put something in O'Neill's drink to make him sick, thus ensuring his victory in the battle. He believes that he possesses a great advantage over you which is why he agreed to allow you to take O'Neill's place."

"Um, Teal'c, ...how do you know all this?" Daniel asked.

"I do not know, Daniel Jackson, but I know it to be true."

"Wait! I do know!" Daniel began his rapid fire speech. "It's your _gift_. Nika was explaining all this to me yesterday. When a Kanakan, which is what they call themselves, becomes an adult, around age 18, they are given a _gift_, like we received in the ceremony last night."

Teal'c and Carter looked at Daniel with blank expressions on their faces.

"Don't you see? Teal'c gift was insight, a third eye if you will. He could read Palaki like a book!"

"Indeed." Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

"So, how does this help us, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"I don't know yet. I mean we don't know what the gifts of the other Elders are, but one of them may be able to see that Palaki is not being honest with them."

"Palaki's gift is physical prowess." Teal'c stated, in a matter of fact manner.

"Teal'c," Daniel began, "If you know what Palaki's gift is you should be able to figure out the other Elders as well. We just have to stall the fight for a few minutes."

"Daniel, even if Teal'c does figure out what their gifts are, how do we know that will help us?" Sam asked.

"We don't, but right now it's the only chance we have."

"Carter!" Jack hissed. She immediately knelt at his side and put a hand on his arm. "You can't do this!" he croaked.

"We don't have a choice, Colonel. Besides, you heard Teal'c, Palaki thinks he has a huge tactical advantage over me. I can use that in my favor."

Daniel knelt down on the other side of Jack's cot "Sam, that guy is built like a sumo wrestler! We have to try to talk the elders out of allowing the battle."

"I agree, but if we can't, I'll use Palaki's weight and mass against him."

"Major Carter, I would have been the logical choice to battle Palaki," Teal'c stated.

"They would have never gone for that Teal'c. Palaki clearly wants an advantage so that he is sure to win."

Teal'c gave Sam a slight nod of his head indicating that she was right.

Sam offered Jack some more of the water from the canteen and, despite his best efforts, O'Neill passed out again.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you to everyone for the wonderful reviews! While this chapter is not a cliffhanger, there is still another twist to the story so keep reading!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Some time had gone by before one of Palaki's guards again entered the cave. "The Elders have arrived. It is time for the battle," he stated.

Sam and Daniel helped get Jack up off his cot and, with one of them supporting him on each side, brought him out of the cave. They helped him sit down on a large boulder near the cave entrance.

"Daniel?" Lopaka questioned, "I am quite surprised that you requested the rite of Pukaua Koa."

"We didn't!" Daniel stated with conviction. "Palaki, is not being honest with you!"

"Why would he do that, Daniel? I have known Palaki all of my life. I have know you for just one day."

Teal'c inclined his head slightly as he addressed Lopaka. "Your gift is to be fair and even tempered when dealing with others. In order to be fair you must hear us. We were taken from our quarters last night and brought here against our will. We have no desire to participate in this battle."

Lopaka looked from Teal'c to Palaki and then at the other counsel members.

"Lopaka, you can not believe them," Palaki began, "they are evil and will bring down the wrath of the gods upon us all!"

"Where is Nika?" Daniel asked.

"The women are not allowed to witness the rite of Pukaua Koa." Lopaka stated.

"That's too bad," Daniel began "because with Nika's gift she could tell you that we are telling the truth. The Goa'uld are false gods, they do not know we are here, and they will not punish you for listening to us."

"Palaki intended to fight Colonel O'Neill but he put something into the Colonel's drink to make him sick." Carter tried to explain to the elders.

"Palaki told us that he will do battle with you, Sam." Kona stated.

"Yes," she began, "As I explained to Palaki, I am second in command and it is my job to take Colonel O'Neill's place."

"Carter..." Jack said and then immediately regretted the exertion as he doubled up in pain, leaned over and put his head in his hands.

"Look at him!" Carter indicated the slumped over form of Colonel O'Neill. "The rest of us are fine. Why would he be sick and not the rest of us if Palaki didn't give him something to make him sick!" Sam moved over to where Jack was sitting on the boulder with his head in his hands. She put her hand on his shoulder "Sir?" She asked softly.

"Enough!" Shouted Palaki. "We do not have to listen to these false accusations by these strangers. They requested the rite of Pukaua Koa. let's get on with it!"

"But, we didn't request the rite of Pukaua Koa!" Daniel shouted, his arms flailing wildly. "What about you other Elders, what do you think about all of this?"

The oldest looking man of the group stepped forward. "I believe that Palaki merely wants to preserve our way of life. He is concerned for us, and while his methods may not be approved by you, his intentions are good."

"Ok, look," Daniel began again, "tell your people that Palaki has killed Sam in the rite of Pukaua Koa and the rest of us left in disgrace, never to return again. You save face, your people will believe that we are wrong and the gods are still watching you."

"We can not lie," The oldest of the group stated. "There are those among us who would know that we are not telling the truth and it would defeat the purpose."

"Then those people who can tell truth from lies should be brought here to talk to us!" an exasperated Daniel bellowed.

"Lopaka," Teal'c began in an even tone "surely you can see that this is the only fair thing to do. You have it in your power to know whether or not we are telling the truth."

Lopaka looked around the group as if looking for an answer. When no one said anything Teal'c continued, "Major Carter is a formidable warrior and she _will_ kill Palaki in battle."

Palaki made a sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh. Teal'c ignored it and continued, "We do not wish to harm any of your people, we want to be friends, however, by insisting upon this battle will we never be friends and both of our peoples will lose."

"Teal'c's words are wise." The oldest and most judicious of the Elders spoke.

Between gritted teeth Jack said "Carter, we're overdue..."

Sam looked at the Elders and said "You took our weapons and the devices that we use to communicate with our leaders. When we did not check in with them this morning they began making plans to come and rescue us."

Teal'c jumped in and added "You have heard the stories of the powerful weapons possessed by the gods? We possess weapons just as powerful. When our friends come through the gate to find us they will not hesitate in using the weapons. They could decimate your entire village in a few moments."

Suddenly, from a distance, the group heard the voices of Nika and Lailene shouting "Stop! Wait! Do not begin the battle!"

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voices and saw Nika and Lailene running as fast as they could in the rocky terrain by the cave.

Nika arrived first and took a moment to catch her breath while the Elders and SG1 looked at her in anticipation.

"The strangers were brought here against their wishes and Palaki took their weapons and communication devices away from them while they slept." Nika huffed between breaths.

Lailene held up an Alice vest and a P90 "We found these things in Palaki's hut." She said.

"What were you doing in my hut?" an angry Palaki exclaimed.

"Each of you standing here has been given a gift and you have all witnessed many of the activation ceremonies," Nika began. "How long does a person normally sleep after drinking the Kumu nectar?"

One of the Elders responded "About eight hours."

"Yes!" Nika exclaimed "Lailene and I went to the hut where the strangers were staying so that we would be there when they awoke."

"They were gone." Lailene stated simply.

"They could not have left on their own," Nika continued. "I knew then that Palaki was behind their disappearance. We went to his hut and found the stranger's foot coverings, packs, weapons and communication devices in his rooms."

"We also found sleeping root," Lailene added and gave Palaki a stern look.

"Palaki, we know you put the sleeping root into Jack's drink." Nika turned to Sam and said "He's sick isn't he?"

"Yes." She replied, still standing beside the Colonel with one hand on his shoulder.

Finally, the one Elder who had remained silent throughout all of the conversation, stepped to the forefront. "I have been listening carefully to everything that has been said here. Palaki, your intentions were good, but your methods were flawed. You can not take people against their will and force them to participate in the rite of Pukaua Koa."

"Kolomona, I..." Palaki began, but the Elder held up a hand to silence him.

"Kolomona," Lopaka addressed the wise Elder, "What shall we do? All of the people in the village believe that we are here to witness the rite of Pukaua Koa. They will not understand when we tell them the rite did not take place."

"Lopaka, how can the rite of Pukaua Koa take place when it was not requested, and these people were brought here while they still experienced the effects of the activation ceremony?" Nika asked.

"As difficult as it will be for Palaki, we must tell our people the truth," Kolomona, the wise Elder, stated.

Just then the radio in the vest that Lailene still held cracked to life. "SG1, this is General Hammond. SG1, please respond."

"You must let me answer that," Sam said to the group of Elders.

"General Hammond is our leader," Daniel began. "He's contacting us through the ring of the gods. If we don't answer he will send more people here with weapons to look for us. They will think you have hurt us and they won't be patient or understanding."

"What Daniel is trying to say, is that they will shoot first and ask questions later," Jack interjected from his position on the boulder.

Lopaka nodded to Sam and she took the radio from Lailene.

"General Hammond, this is Major Carter," she said into the device.

"Major, what's going on there? You are 6 hours overdue for a check-in." the General's stern voice came through the walkie talkie.

"Yes, Sir, we had a bit of a misunderstanding with the locals, but we've got that all worked out now."

"Major, where is Colonel O'Neill?"

Sam walked over to the Colonel and handed him the radio.

"I'm here General. We're all ok, like Carter said, it was just a misunderstanding. We'll check in with you again in 8 hours."

"Very well. If I don't hear from you in eight hours I will send SG3 to extract you."

"Understood. O'Neill out." Jack handed the radio back to Sam.

"Very well," Lopaka began, " we will all travel back to Kanaka and go to the village commons. We will call everyone together and tell them the truth about this misunderstanding with the strangers."

"Um...couldn't you call us something else, say the Tauri, instead of strangers?" Daniel inquired.

"The Tauri? What does that mean?" asked Kona.

"It is where we are from...all of us," Daniel made a sweeping gesture to include everyone standing on the rocky cliff near the cave entrance. "Your ancestors were taken from Earth hundreds of years ago by the Goa'uld."

"This cannot be!" Palaki firmly stated.

"How else can you explain the fact that I understand your language? There are people on Earth who speak the same language."

"Daniel!" Jack admonished from his position near the cave entrance.

"Uh, how far is it back to the village?" Carter asked.

"Nearly a three hour walk." Lailene supplied.

"There is no way that Colonel O'Neill can make that in his current condition." Sam replied.

"That is why we brought the antidote to sleeping root." Nika responded as she held out a coconut cup with a small amount of a white powder in the bottom. "We must mix it with water," she said.

This time Daniel and Sam looked at Teal'c to see if he thought it was safe. Teal'c merely nodded his head slowly in the affirmative.

Sam brought the leather canteen over to where Nika stood. "Ok, how much water do I put in here?"

"Not much. It should be about the same amount you drank at the activation ceremony last night."

Sam nodded and poured about two ounces of water into the cup. Nika swished it around to mix the powder with the water and then handed the cup to Sam. She took it to Jack who took the cup with both hands and drank the contents.

"How long does it take to work?" Sam asked Nika.

"He will start feeling better shortly and will be back to normal within the hour."

Lailene and Nika had brought SG1's boots and while they waited for Jack to recover everyone put their boots on for the hike back to the village.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	6. Chapter 6

When Jack announced that he was feeling better, the large group began the journey back to the village.

As they approached Kanaka, Jack began to hang back from the rest of the crowd. Sam immediately noticed, and fearing he wasn't feeling well again, moved to walk beside him.

Jack reached out and put a hand on Sam's arm to stop her from walking. She looked at him questioningly and he asked "That pink flower rock that Nike gave me, what exactly was it suppose to do to me?"

She smiled at Jack when he called Nika by the brand name Nike. "I'm not exactly sure, Sir. I do know that it had something to do with emotions."

"Dammit! I thought so!"

"Sir?"

"It's nothing, Carter."

"Colonel..."

"It's just...um...I've been feeling feelings, that's all...I mean more than normal,...feelings..."

Sam looked at him with understanding in her eyes. "Well, at least your stone didn't increase your desires," she said ruefully.

Jack's eyebrows shot up at that and Sam instantly regretted having said it to her commanding officer.

"No! It's not like that!" She hastily interjected. "It's very confusing. It's **_all _**my desires that are amplified and I can't sort them out. On one hand I want to always be on SG1, but then I also want to work in R and D, make a brilliant discovery in physics and be able to publish my findings. I want a command of my own, and I also want to be the highest ranking female officer in the United States Air Force. At other times I just want a normal life. I want to be in a relationship, maybe have a kid...I want to be loved." She stopped quickly as she realized what she had said.

When she said she wanted to be loved Jack looked down at the ground and kicked at a tiny pebble. He wanted to shout "I love you, Carter! I want to give you everything you want!". But he knew Sam. If he told her that now she wouldn't believe him because he was under the influence of an alien technology. He also knew that the decision was hers. Whatever she eventually decided, he would be there for her. Always.

When Jack looked down and kicked a pebble Sam thought "He really doesn't have feelings for me, what he's feeling now is just a result of the alien stone." She felt embarrassed at having told her commanding officer so much about what she was feeling. She knew he didn't like dealing with emotions.

"So how long do the effects of these rocks last?" he asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I don't know, Sir, but as soon as we get home I can work on figuring that out. I believe that we have to remain in close proximity to the stones for them to have an effect on us but I can't be sure."

"So, if we send the rocks to Area 51 and let the egg heads play with them, we should get back to normal?"

"I think so..."

"Good. Let's go get the rest of our stuff and get out of here."

As they entered the village, Lopaka had already called the Kanakans together in the commons and was explaining what had happened with the rite of Pukaua Koa.

Palaki, unnoticed, had hurried off to his own cabin. Once there he pulled a small locked box out from its hiding place beneath a board in the floor of his bedroom. Palaki carefully opened the polished wooden box and pulled out the strange alien artifact. The baseball sized silver ball had been handed down from generation to generation. Palaki didn't know if anyone had ever used the device he now held in the palm of his hand.

Suddenly, the device lit up and a face shimmered to life in the ball. The face looked similar to Teal'c except that the man had a different symbol tattooed in the middle of his forehead.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I love all the positive feedback! Keep it coming!

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Back in the village square Lopaka had finished speaking. Jack strode purposefully up to the dias and said "Listen, Lopaka, we appreciate your hospitality and all, but we need to get the rest of our gear and return to our world."

"Yes, of course. I understand," the Polynesian man said. "Nika, Lailene," He called "please take our visitors to get their equipment."

"That won't be necessary," Nika said "because we already took all of their things from Palaki's hut and put them in the hut where they are staying."

"Thank you, Nika," Daniel said.

"Must you go so soon?" asked Lailene. "Couldn't you stay one more night?"

"The rain begins almost everyday at this time," Nika added helpfully "Walking to the ring of the gods in the rain is not a pleasant experience."

Jack looked at Sam and thought about spending another night sleeping beside her in this tropical paradise, the sound of a relaxing tropical rain steadily beating on the thatched roof of the hut as the waves lapped the beach. With his emotions in a heightened state, Jack knew they couldn't stay any longer.

"Sorry, folks," O'Neill began, "but as tempting as your offer is, we need to get home."

He then thanked Lopaka, Lailene and Kona for their hospitality and Daniel added that they would come back and visit Kanaka again.

Teal'c bowed and Sam gave Lailene and Nika each a hug before SG1 went to retrieve their gear and begin the long hike to the Stargate.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

As SG1 approached the stargate, Colonel O'Neill suddenly signaled for everyone to stop and crouch down. Several Jaffa were appearing through the shimmering event horizon of the stargate.

"O'Neill," Teal began "these Jaffa serve Baal."

"Of course they do!" Grumbled Colonel O'Neill.

SG1 watched from their hiding places as a dozen Jaffa came through the gate before the event horizon disintegrated. Suddenly Palaki appeared, stepping out from a hiding place in the undergrowth, holding a Goa'uld long range communication device.

"Damn that idiot!" O'Neill cursed.

"Jack, when those Jaffa get to Kanaka and they can't find us, they will tear that village apart and start killing people randomly."

"Yeah, Daniel. So?"

"So, Jack, we can't just go home and let those Jaffa kill the Kanakans and destroy their village!"

"And what would you have us do, Daniel?" Anger was evident in Jack's voice.

"Well, I don't know, but we can't just sit by and do nothing."

"Daniel Jackson is correct, O'Neill. If we had not come here Palaki would have never contacted the Goa'uld and these Jaffa would not be here now."

"Unless someone can give me a good plan as to what we should do about it, we're just going home as soon as the Jaffa are far enough away from the gate."

"Sir," Carter began, "we could follow the Jaffa back to the village keeping our distance so they won't know we're here. Then if they cause problems at the village we stop them. If they believe the Kanakans and think that we've left, we wait until they're gone and then go home."

"Damn!" O'Neill spat out the curse. "Fine, we'll follow, but keep your distance and don't let them see or hear you."

SG1 stayed to the underbrush and followed the contingent of Jaffa back to the village of Kanaka.

As the Jaffa entered the village Palaki called out "Kanakans! I have summoned the gods using the ancient communication device! They have sent these warriors to us!"

"Palaki, why would you do that?" Lopaka asked.

Before Palaki could answer, the head Jaffa pushed him aside and went up to Lopaka. "Where is SG1?" He asked.

"Who?" Replied Lopaka "I do not know anyone by that name."

"Don't play stupid with me you fool! Colonel O'Neill and his team, where are they?"

"They left several hours ago to return to their home through the ring of the gods," Lopaka replied.

The Jaffa turned to Palaki "Why did you summon us here if SG1 had already left your planet?"

"They told us that the Goa'uld are false gods, my lord. I wanted to prove our allegiance to the gods."

"Idiot! We don't care about your worthless planet or you backward, ignorant slaves that live here!"

"Then why did you come when I summoned you," asked Palaki.

"We wanted to capture SG1." The Jaffa then turned to the rest of his soldiers. "Search every cabin to make sure SG1 are not hiding here." The guards nodded and began a methodical sweep of the village.

"Why would you do that?" Lopaka protested.

"Silence, slave!" the Jaffa shouted as he shot Lopaka once with his Zat.

Lopaka crumpled to the ground and Nika rushed to his side and knelt beside him. When she realized that he was injured and not dead, she turned her wrath on Palaki. "See what you have done! Why do you have to be so hard headed and stupid?"

Palaki glared at her but said nothing.

There was confusion in the village square as the Jaffa pushed people out of their way or shot them with Zats so that they could search their huts. Children were screaming and running away in fear, women were crying and the men who got in the way were struck with the butt end of a staff weapon so shot with a Zat'nikatel.

After a 45 minute search of the village, the Jaffa guards announced that there was no sign of SG1.

"Give me the communication device," the Jaffa leader demanded of Palaki.

The native handed over the small silver ball.

"Do not contact us again."

The Jaffa leader gathered his men and started back toward the stargate.

"Jack," Daniel whispered "are we just going to let them go?"

"Yes, Daniel. It's the only way these people will be safe. If we kill the Jaffa, Baal will send more and he'll burn the village to the ground looking for us. They have to believe we're gone."

Daniel nodded his head in understanding.

Jack flipped open the cover of his watch. "It takes about 90 minutes to walk to the stargate. We're going to wait that long before we head back to the gate. I want to make sure those Jaffa are long gone before we head back."

"Aren't we going to say something to the Kanakans?" Daniel asked.

"Like what,... I told you so? I think they figured it out, Daniel."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	8. Chapter 8

Back on Earth, SG1 sat around the briefing room table with General Hammond and Doctor Fraiser. A small pile of colored stones and a miniature terra cotta pitcher with a cork stopper sat in front of General Hammond.

"So, I am to understand that by drinking this liquid and holding these stones in your hands some aspect of your personalities was enhanced?"

The members of SG1 looked around the table at each other rather sheepishly before Colonel O'Neill answered "I guess..."

"Are the four of you still under the influence of this alien...drug?" The General asked.

"Well, I believe the effects have diminished since we've returned, General." Major Carter answered.

"I have just one question people, what were you thinking?" General Hammond demanded.

"Well, um...Sir," Daniel began, "I think we didn't really believe the stones would have any effect on us, and we were very interested in learning about the culture of these people. They are the first Polynesians we have come across, and the fact that they have been left alone on this planet with no outside contact for the past 100 years is fascinating."

General Hammond turned and looked at the Doctor. "Doctor Fraiser, what can you tell me about the effects of this drug?"

Janet stood up and with a click of the mouse brought up a picture of a brain scan on the computer. "Sir, this is a brain scan we took of Colonel O'Neill just after he returned through the Stargate. You notice this bright red area,... this is an area of increased activity in the brain and it is caused by a chemical imbalance. I believe the drug is what caused the chemical imbalance in their brains but I won't know for sure until we have that liquid analyzed."

"Doctor, do all of SG1's brain scans show the same chemical imbalance?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Major Carter, what can you tell us about these stones?"

"Well, Sir, I've only had a few minutes to study them in the lab, but they are all emitting a very low level EM field. I believe that the EM field is in direct contact with the increased activity in the brain caused by the chemical imbalance."

"Major, will this effect wear off?"

"Yes, Sir, I believe so."

"All right people, until we know more about this and until the effects wear off you are all confined to the base." General Hammond stood up and O'Neill and Carter jumped to their feet as well.

"General," Jack hastily interjected "We feel fine! Why do we have to stay on base? We want to get back to work!"

"Jack, you are under the influence of alien technology. I can't allow it, you know that." Hammond dismissed the group and went directly to his office.

Janet took the small pitcher that held the 'activation juice' and went to the infirmary to begin the analyses of its contents.

Sam scooped up the four stones and headed directly for her lab. Jack lingered in the conference room for a few minutes before he followed the Major to her lab.

O'Neill stood at the doorway to Sam's lab, unobserved for a few moments and watched her turning the four alien stones over in her hand and examining them closely. After a few moments he stepped into the room.

"So, Carter, are you feeling the effects of all four rocks? You're touching all of them."

Sam stared at the stones intently as she replied "No, Sir, I'm not." She looked up into his eyes, "That was a very astute observation, Sir."

"What?"

She grabbed a piece of equipment and scanned each stone individually.

After quickly scanning each of the stones she excitedly announced "They are emitting radio frequencies! Each stone is emitting a different frequency! When we each held our stone and drank the juice, the chemical imbalance caused by the drug in the juice picked up the specific frequency of the stone we were holding and the particular frequency of each stone worked on just a slightly different area of our brains."

"Huh?"

"That's why I'm not feeling the effects of all four stones. My brain locked onto the radio frequency that was being emitted by the red stone. Your brain locked on to the pink stone and so forth."

"So this does wear off, right?" Jack asked.

"Yes. We are only effected by the frequency of the stone we were touching when we drank the activation chemical. That chemical will eventually work itself out of our systems. Also, since these radio frequencies are so weak, we have to be in very close proximity or even touching the stones to feel the effect."

"So, how is it that the Kanakans have these 'gifts' all the time? Why doesn't it wear off in them?"

"I'm quite sure that the drug in the juice is present in their diet in the other fruits grown on the planet. It just isn't at as high a concentration level as it is in the fruit that they extract the juice from."

"So this chemical is present in their brains all the time because of their diet?"

"Yeah. I'm going to check in with Janet and see what she found out about the chemical in the juice and then I'll talk to General Hammond, but I'm sure he'll let us go back to work in a day or two."

Sam grabbed the handful of colorful stones and a small handheld device for detecting radio frequencies and left Colonel O'Neill standing in the middle of her lab.

Janet confirmed Sam's beliefs regarding the chemical in the 'activation juice' and they both reported their findings to General Hammond.

"Good work, Major," the General began. "I still want SG1 to stay on base until the chemical has dissipated from your bodies and Doctor Fraiser gives you a clean bill of health."

With that he dismissed the two female officers.

After three days, Doctor Fraiser cleared SG1 for active duty and soon they were off on a standard reconnaissance mission. Five days after returning from the recon mission Major Carter was sent on a mission with the Promethius.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: As I said at the beginning, this part is my episode tag for "Grace". Colonel O'Neill's reaction when Carter called him "Jack" when she woke up in the infirmary always bugged me. So, the incident with the stones from the tropical planet made Sam and Jack more aware of their feelings and this is how I think the ending of "Grace" should have played out.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Daniel Jackson jogged the last few stepped and slid into the elevator beside Jack O'Neill just before the door closed.

Daniel glanced sideways at his friend, unsure whether he should say anything or not. "You, um, hear about Sam?" He finally asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied.

"It doesn't sound good."

"18 hours past due for a contact, yeah, I'd say something went wrong." Jack said, anger and sarcasm mingling equally in his voice.

The two stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment before Daniel spoke. "Well, anyway I put together a list of planets with Stargates that are in range of the Prometheus' route. General Hammond agreed to send SG teams to all of them, including us."

"Why?" O'Neill asked.

"Well, if something went wrong maybe they would have been able to get to a planet with a stargate."

"At which time they would have gated home!" Jack said angrily.

"Well, not necessarily, Jack. I mean they may not know where the stargate is, it may be buried, it may take them awhile to get to the gate, any number of things..."

"Sounds like a long shot," Jack said miserably.

"Well, at least its..."

"What? What is it, Daniel?"

"Well at least its something. Instead of just hanging around here, at least we would be doing something."

Jack looked at Daniel for a moment and then nodded slightly. The archeologist was right, at least he would be doing something instead sitting here helplessly wondering what happened to Carter.

After four days of searching for the Promethius, or from Jack's perspective, searching for Carter, the ship made it back to Earth and within a short time of their arrival, Major Carter was in the infirmary deep within Cheyenne Mountain.

After several hours of unconsciousness, Major Carter opened her eyes and blinked several times. She was unsure whether she was really home or this was another hallucination.

"Hey," Colonel O'Neill said as he realized she was awake.

"Jack?"

Jack stood up and walked over to Sam's bed. He took her hand in both of his. "I'm here, Sam." He said softly.

"How long was I out there?"

"It's all relative Carter, that whole time-space continuum thing."

"Sir..."

"Four days."

"It felt like weeks."

"Yeah, well, it kinda felt like weeks to me too." He let go of her hand as he realized he was still holding it. Feeling a little awkward, he tried to change the subject.

"Um, Teal'c and Daniel say hi, uh, they're planning a little bit of a shindig for when you're up and around. There's talk of cake."

"Cake?" She said with a weak smile.

"My idea."

"Can't wait."

"Need anything? Magazine, yo-yo?"

"Some water."

Jack moved to the tray that was near Sam's bed and picked up the plastic glass filled with water and held the bendable straw to her mouth. After a couple sips she thanked him and he replaced the water glass.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

"Yes, you are." Jack looked at Sam for a moment. "I'm just gonna go... um..,"

"Sir? Stay, please?"

Jack pulled his chair up closer to Sam's bed and sat down. He could see her visibly relax as he sat down near her bed.

Sam heard a little girl's voice singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"...just before she drifted off to sleep.

-x-x-x-


End file.
